FACILITATION: BE A SHAMAN FOR THE SHYMAN
Practical steps to help the less-confident in your team achieve their true worth.
I think we’d all agree, fear is the enemy of creativity. Is this idea good enough? Will people laugh at me? Will I look stupid if I say this? — all common internal workings of the less-confident.
But less-confident does not mean less-able.
· “Shyness can stop you from doing all the things in life you’d like to” — The Smiths — Ask
· “Don’t be shy. Don’t let the tide of your sorrow drown your nights and flood your days” — The Libertines — Don’t Be Shy
Everyone has intuitive feelings and opinions about almost everything that comes their way — and these intuitions are the lifeblood of your team. To ensure you get the best ideas and make the whole greater than the sum of its parts, ALL of these thoughts & impressions need to be harnessed. This is why a ‘speak first and loudest’ approach can be detrimental.
‘Open discussion gives too much weight to those who speak early and assertively’
People often line up behind an idea because of who has presented it. It is vital to separate the message and the messenger.
It’s why we at Ideaflip have democratised the idea generation process, combining brainwriting and brainstorming so EVERYONE is heard.
See how our SILENT BRAINSTORM PROCESS can revolutionise your idea generation sessions.
BE THE GREENHOUSE
“greenhousing is the nurturing behaviour helps teams grow strong ideas”
People get bruised if their ideas are rebuffed — or at least there is a risk of that. If that happens, they will feel less confident, less inclined to participate, will lose enthusiasm and become less engaged. Not only will they feel left out and maybe even incidental, but you, as leader, will not be able to get the marrow of their ideas.
(There is a time and a place for more robust exchanges, or ‘hot teams’, and we will look at that in future posts.)
For now, a good starting point is the ?What If! agency’s SUN & RAIN mantra.
DO
Suspend — for now, let go of critiquing
Understand — ask open questions to really get to the heart of what they are saying
Nurture — explore the idea, combine it with others, do not discard.
DON’T
React — now is NOT the moment for your opinion
Assume — waiting for the holes in any idea is a negative, unhelpful mindset
Insist — your way is NOT the only way
If you keep nurturing people and believe in them, try to help them, try to create a supportive brainstorming environment, they may just become the star turn in your organisation.
“Everyone has their own idea of what the world is like, shaped by a values, prejudice and assumptions. Think of this as a bandwidth in the mind.”**
Moreover, this bandwidth, this internal solar system, can be widened. In the nature/nurture debate, cultural phenomena has an active part in shaping the brain. And you can play an active part on shaping your team to get them to say what they think.
Steve Jobs always said his proudest achievement was his TEAMS, and not the products.
BE A SHAMAN FOR THE SHYMAN WITH OUR GROUND RULES FOR IDEA GENERATION:
· Leave your ego behind (it’s the role of the facilitator to head this off)
· Suspend judgement
· When others present their ideas, be on RECEIVE not TRANSMIT
· Quantity over quality, the more the merrier, the wackier the better
· Fun and laughing allowed (encouraged)
And here’s a few from the renowned Arthur B. VanGundy (idea generation techniques guru)
· Separate idea generation & evaluation
· Test assumptions
· Avoid patterned thinking
· Create new perspectives
· Minimise negative thinking
· Take prudent risks
OTHER THINGS TO BEAR IN MIND WHEN BRAINSTORMING
· the more you do it the better you’ll get
· try adding stimuli: words, images, objects — create a brainstorming tool box
· experiment, adapt games, try different things — you never know what will spark off a great idea
· use dot voting to collate best ideas from your brainstorm
· “My mind is strictly visual.”
So said no lesser luminary than Alfred Hitchcock. So we say: draw, sketch, outline — a visual elevator pitch is a great way to make an idea real in the minds of others… and another route for each member of your team to find the best way to express themselves.
Ideaflip is an ingenious tool for the remote-working era, providing the perfect, online space for all your team to connect, interact and create — wherever in the world they are.
The Ideaflip Brainstorm PROCESS is also perfect for at-work collaboration. It democratises the workplace, creating a platform for everyone to have their ideas heard — inspiring PEOPLE to participate through PLAY — and helps discover and harness everyone’s latent creativity.
